Designing blended learning platforms: A focus group study with educators

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of digital technologies, such as blended learning (BL), in higher education. These technologies support educators in designing personalized learning experiences and help digital-native students prepare for future leadership roles. This study used focus group discussions (FGDs) with three groups of higher education educators to explore their views on BL in engineering education. The FGDs included open-ended questions focusing on the complexities and challenges of adopting BL and on how technology might help address these issues. The transcripts of the discussions were carefully read several times, coded, categorized, and analyzed to identify key themes. In addition, the participants’ facial expressions were observed and considered in the analysis. Based on the findings, a design framework was developed for creating an online learning platform in engineering education. The results show that integrating BL into education provides significant benefits for both educators and students.